Jones explains decision to cut Glenn

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the decision to cut Aaron Glenn basically came down to this: He was outplayed by the team’s younger cornerbacks in training camp and the preseason.

“That’s it in a nutshell — they got ahead of him,” Jones said of fourth-year players Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones.

Jones said he thought Reeves and Jones would be better playmakers than Glenn in Wade Phillips’ ultra-aggresive 3-4 defense.

“We picked the guys that gave us the best chance to make a play in an aggressive defense,” Jones said.

Jones added it wasn’t easy to cut the popular Glenn, a 35-year-old Texas A&M alumnus entering his 14th season. Glenn was expected to start Sunday should Terence Newman (foot) not be able to play.

Glenn also was the team’s nickel corner the last two seasons.

“I have a lot of respect for Aaron Glenn,” Jones said. “He really gave us a great two years. But I really want ultimately the guys who have the best chance to make the plays. Sometimes being in the right spot isn’t enough. You want people who cause something to happen. It left us a little short experience-wise relative to that nickel spot, but a lot of teams had tough calls. I don’t want to say it was easy, out of respect to Aaron, but I think it gives us the best chance of winning, of winning right now. I think there are guys that are farther along in our evaluation that got ahead of him.”

The decision to cut Glenn didn’t sit well with Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams, who said the move “pissed” him off.

“I know that Roy is passionate,” Jones said. “This is certainly an area he is real close to in the secondary. It didn’t surprise me or bother me. I respect his thoughts there. We made our decision based on the best players we can put on the field.

“We’ve got people in the secondary that break on the ball good, and that’s how we made our decisions on who is in the secondary. They break on the ball. They try to make plays. They aren’t as conservative as we were last year, because Wade has convinced them we’ll put pressure on the quarterback. I expect them to be in front of the receivers, making plays.”

Jones said he also likes Reeves’ speed.

“Jacques has arguably some of the best makeup speed we have out there,” Jones said.